This volume brings together Siburapha's most highly acclaimed novel,
Behind the Painting, with three short stories highlighting the plight
of the underclass: "Those Kind of People," "Lend Us a Hand," and "The
Awakening."
Behind the Painting is the story of a Thai student studying in Japan
who becomes infatuated with an older Thai woman. The novel reflects
postwar Thai society in the vanity of the aristocracy and the pragmatism
of the new elite; in the social more of concealing one's true feelings;
and in the restricted existence of unmarried women and the resulting
pressure to marry, whatever the circumstance. Paralleling these Thai
cultural themes are the universal themes of the fear of aging and the
vagaries of love.
Siburapha (Kulap Saipradit, 1905-1974) has enjoyed a checkered
reputation in the Thai literary world. A popular and accomplished writer
of romantic novels in the late 1920s, his later work tackled themes of
social injustice and inequality. Imprisoned from 1952 to 1957, Siburapha
subsequently sought asylum in China, where he remained for the rest of
his life.